Kristine Kraus, School Board Member

Kristine Kraus is the mother of four children, all of whom graduated from Seminole County Public Schools. She was a YMCA Preschool Programs teacher for 18 years, retiring in 2015 to care for her sick mom. She is a graduate of Medix Technical and Vocational School in Towson, Maryland, Catonsville Community College and Seminole State College.

As the 2018 election season approached, and following the Parkland event, she felt students in Seminole County would benefit from her energy and devotion to service, and ran successfully for the Seminole County School Board. When Kristine was a 15-year-old middle school student in Des Moines, Iowa, she survived a school shooting in her own classroom. She remains grateful that no one was seriously injured that day, and the experience led her to deep understanding of the fears that parents and students have about school safety. She believes in comprehensive school safety and security, including protections against bullying.

Kristine has been an active volunteer in Seminole County Public Schools for over 20 years, attending Seminole County School Board meetings and volunteering with Rainbow Elementary to support implementation of the i-Ready program for kindergarteners. Kristine assisted in event planning, teacher appreciation activities, yearbook, and field trips. She provided leadership as a School Advisory Chair, and served on the High School Rezoning Committee and on the District Governor’s Junior All-Star committee.

In addition to providing rigorous support for college-bound students, Kristine believes in the power of vocational, career and technical education to improve lives and career outcomes. Kristine has always been passionate about creating the best environment possible for students and teachers, and is a dedicated, full-time advocate for students, families and teachers.

Kristine is also a local and civic leader and volunteer. She led her homeowners’ association as president for 14 years, and once gathered the support of 5,000 neighbors in 14 subdivisions to protect their last neighboring parcel of undeveloped land. She has spent countless hours volunteering and supporting numerous community events.

Kristine’s husband of more than 30 years, Mike Kraus, is a principal at KMI International, a worldwide project and construction management firm. Their four children, Matt, Allison, Ashley and Tyler, all attended Rainbow Elementary and Tuskawilla Middle School. Three graduated from Lake Howell High School, and Tyler graduated from Crooms Academy of Information Technology.